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Vida Vegan Con is heading to Texas a little early!

Two of your friendly VVC co-founders, Janessa and myself (jess) will be in town in just a few days for a bunch of meetings, requisite breakfast tacos and to represent our upcoming vegan weekend at the one-and-only Texas Vegfest. We’re coming for ya, Austin!

Texas VegFest is a free public education event that celebrates the health, environmental, and animal welfare benefits of a plant­based diet. More details here.

Come stop by our Texas VegFest booth!

The two of us (Michele’s gonna be holding down the fort in Portland) will be tabling and selling tickets to Vida Vegan Con’s opening day Vegan Bazaaron Friday, May 29th with a very special ticket deal. This brand-new Vegan Bazaar is a whole new element we’re packing into Vida Vegan Con weekend, where we open our doors to the public…during the day!

Every conference, we hear from folks outside of Con-land who want to meet our exciting exhibitors, attendees who wanted to bring their friends and family by for a visit, and from more & more vendors of all sizes who wanted to get involved. This way, we can fit everybody in! Plus, who could pass on a full day of even more vegan samples and food trucks parked right outside?!

So if you’ll be in Austin on April 4th, do stop by our table and say “hi!”, grab your own tickets to the Vegan Bazaar (no pesky online fees!two ticket deal!), learn more about what’s going on all weekend long, check out our classic VVC merch 😺, sign up to volunteer, and learn just why we decided to bring all things VVC weekend to Austin, TX (Hint: look around VegFest!!)

✩If you’d like to get involved with Vida Vegan Con + our opening day Vegan Bazaar, stop by our booth and/or send us an email! ✩

Now that we’ve got the details out there, it’s time to pack. We’ve pricelined. We’ve unearthed our suitcases. We’re thinking about tacos. Our stomachs are seriously beginning to growl.

With that, we’d like to share a few things on our upcoming Austin to-do (er, to-eat) lists:

Janessa can’t wait to get her hands on their Del Rey taco! This vegan take on the classic fish taco has (gluten-free!) mock fish, cilantro crema, cabbage slaw and avocado. I’m estimating about four exclamation points’ worth of anticipation from the level of excitement she stated.

For the record, this truck was gearing up to relocate when we last visited, so make sure verify the current address.

Apple spice whisky, Buzzmill Coffee

Booze wise, it was rather chilly while we were in town this past February, so I held out on a margarita in favor of sipping house-infused whiskey outside the firepit at Buzzmill with Michele, Smurfy & Joanna. Therefore, I would really appreciate a gorgeous margarita in my life next week (forecasts of thunderstorms, be darned).

Some fabulous fresh fruit margarita, Vivo

And fine, throw in a puffy taco plate, especially if we pop into our FridayBazaar venue just next door from Vivo, The Marchesa.

We just dig Whole Foods’ downtown taco bar so much. There’s a taco computer, for crying out loud!

Did you know that Whole Foods is from Austin?! So you know it’s gonna be good.

For those dry, sunny days, I am stoked to get back on a bike around town. Grabbing one of these convenient rides from short-term rental provider B-Cycle was a big highlight of our last trip:

Austin B-Cycles

Did we mention breakfast tacos? We’re all downright obsessive about these shoestring potato breakfast babies from Cherrywood Coffeehouse:

Breakfast Tacos, Cherrywood Coffeehouse.

While she’s not joining us until VVC itself, here’s what my wife has to say about who she wants to see in Austin: “All the dogs and kids I know from Instagram in Texas!” You heard it here, folks (and by that I mean, Smurfy and Milo).

One more for the road, which was actually our very first stop in town back in February: Arlo’s!

I know, I know, we’ll go for the bacun cheeseburgers next time.

Arlo’s vegan food truck is parked right outside Cheer Up Charlie’s on Red River street, where our Sunday night VVC + Scavenger Hunt After Party will be held. What we’re saying is this: VVC ATX = Vegan Vacation time.

Cheer Up Charlie’s bar

More to come! We’re compiling our very favorite eats along with picks from the Red Hot Vegans, Lazy Smurf & everyone else we talk with, for a very special Vida Vegan Con Takes Austin Must Eats of citywide dining recommendations. Stay tuned!

Hi! One of our speakers for Vida Vegan Con III that we’re super excited about is Jojo Huxster of Vegan in Brighton. She’s a travelin’ vegan gal who’s based in England and travels ’round the world exploring vegan foods and sights. We checked in with her to see what she’s most excited about for Austin, for VVC, and which American food products she likes best.

Read on for Jojo’s faves!

I have SO many Austin things I’m excited about! Top of my list has to be the fish taco from The Vegan Nom. Also Cap City Bakery‘s everything. And Via313(Ed note: Detroit style pizza. Yum.). I also can’t wait to check out Rabbit Food Grocery‘s brick & mortar location. I’m totally stoked about having a kitchen on this trip too. I finally get to try all of the great American products that’d never survive the journey back the the UK. My list includes Gardein fishless fillets, a beast burger and the field roast en croute. And I totally wanna order from Lagusta’s Luscious despite them being pretty far away it’s still a helluva lot closer than Brighton.

Thanks, Jojo!! Read her posts on Austin here, and check out Jojo’s class, Adventures in Vegan Travel Blogging at Vida Vegan Con this May in Austin. Register here.

DEEP BREATH, FOLKS: The Vida Vegan Con III Agenda is LIIIIIVE!

NEXT UP, the big unveiling of our brand-spanking newVegan Bazaarposter:

In further proof that Portland vegans are officially sweet on Austin, thanks to the amazing Josh Hooten of Herbivore Clothing for designing our lovely new poster for Friday’s debut + public Vegan Bazaar! It’s moments like this you just may find yourself hugging your tablet, or smartphone, or semi-functioning laptop, what have you.

Email us today to reserve your own vendor table — discounted rates are available! Remember, all registered Vida Vegan Conattendees and speakers get an exclusive first hour access at noon.

We can’t say goodbye just yet…

ANNOUNCING THE VIDA VEGAN CON THURSDAY NIGHT MEET & GREET:

Whether you’re based in the area or making a bit of a vegan vacation out of your VVCIII plans (Yessssssss), we invite you all to join us for a casual meet & greet from 3pm-6pm at Buzzmill Coffee. This rad coffee shop may be cozy inside, but has a huge outdoor patio with a fire pit and a vegan food cart, Golden Spike Rail Cart. Both Buzzmill and Golden Spike have promised to offer VVC food and drink specials for everybody, so get excited! Plus, we’re easily big fans of a coffee shop that offers coffee, tea and an intriguing assortment of house-infused liquor.

DID SOMEONE SAY VEGAN SCAVENGER HUNT?!?

More fun times ahead! Our friends Marie and Dan, aka “The Red Hot Vegans“, have put together the brand new Vida Vegan Con Scavenger Hunt! Head this way for more info.

OH, THERE’S ALWAYS MORE:

That’s right, there are even more classes and panels coming as we super duper finalize the schedule and coordinate with all those fab, hand-selected speakers, so stay tuned for that, and more surprises for both Vida Vegan Con and our opening day Vegan Bazaar.

Thanks to the capabilities of Google’s On Air Hangout, we sat down with this vegan cookbook superstar on Saturday morning to see just what she’s been up to lately (Hint: it’s a lot of amazing stuff! Vegan events! Podcasts! And tacos!) and what’s in store for her next cookbook, or two, or three.

Join all three Vida Vegan Con organizers for our latest VVC Speaker Series, as we catch up Joni Marie Newman, author of Going Vegan, Fusion Food in the Vegan Kitchen, Home-Cooked Vegan Comfort Food, Vegan Food Gifts, The Best Veggie Burgers on the Planet and 500 Vegan Recipes ⸺ to name a quick few ⸺ and soon-to-be three-time Vida Vegan Con speaker.

This lady is easily one of our VVC attendee favorites, and returns to discuss the ins and outs of Cookbook Writing: From Concept to Proposal to Testing to Editing to Print.

Catch more of Joni and her “recipes, rants & raves” and over at her blog, Just the Food. Peruse her extensive set of cookbook titles here.

Spread the word:

It’s been two long years since VVC2013 and we’re beyond excited to see you all in Austin! Let make this happen.

Sweet Ritual

Step 1:

First things first…Vida Vegan Con is open to all vegan content creators, bloggers, authors, chefs, entrepreneurs, activists community leaders, creative professionals, business owners, enthusiasts and their moms…and best friends…and partners…and pictures of their cats. And so on. Super curious? Read our F.A.Q.for more info, peruse this amazing speaker lineup, and then come join us!

Step 2:

So, how are you getting to Austin?? Epic vegan road trip? Savvy flier? Got those headphones ready for the bus or train? Walking down the street? Whether you’ve decided just how you’re arriving for the festivities or are still contemplating the possibilities of nooch-powered teleportation, here’s a bunch of info on Getting To & Around Austin, TX.

Now, your friendly organizers at VVC Headquarters are no stranger to hostels, AirBnB, crashing on friend’s couches and digging around Priceline and the like ( with occasional bouts of Jess becoming darkly Name-Your-Own-Price obsessive).

Rest assure, we’ve got a large list of hotels, hostels, bike and car rentals over here: VVC2015: Where to Stay.

*Please realize that our on-site room block is where Saturday and Sunday conference happenings take place. Friday’s Bazaar is being held at The Marchesa Hall & Theatre. You are responsible for transportation between all venues as needed. The above map includes driving, bike and public transit directions between the two (plus, practically any & everywhere you’ll want to eat).

As the co-founder of Vegan Cuts, Jill is clearly one of the sharpest vegan entrepeneurs and brand makers around these days. Vegan Cuts, baby: you know ‘em, you love ‘em, and you just can’t wait to open their monthly vegan subscription boxes!

Join us as we catch up with Jill, and hear her latest thoughts on vegan travel, smoothies, exploring ExpoWest, what’s in store for her presentation on “Internet Entrepreneurship” this May at Vida Vegan Con, and if we can wrangle a top-secret sneak peek or two into Vegan Cuts’ upcoming box themes. Dum dum dum!

Vida Vegan Speaker Series: Jill Pyle, Vegan Cuts

The following interview was recorded on Sunday, March 1, 2015 Hatch Innovation in Portland, OR and Ottowa, Canada.

Afterwards, head over to Google Plus, where you can add Vida Vegan to your circles, and make sure you hear first about the upcoming exclusive talks in our ongoing Vida VeganSpeaker Series. And forgoodness sake, make sure you turn notifications off so you don’t get emailed every day.

Bonus: All registered attendees can expect a survey in their inbox soon, to help Jill customize her class just for you.